The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-11-30
INDIA RUBBER.
How the Natives OF Costa RIGA
Take It to Market.
A Thrifty Tree Able To Yield More Than
Fifty Pounds of Rubbec.

Tho chief industry in eastern Costa
RIGA is the collection Of caoutchouc
pronounced kccchook, with tho accent
strong on the first syllablc). as tn, ma.
tive Indians call that substance to US
Auown as India rubber Not many
years ago, says tho Providence Journal,
more than 100, 900 pounds of 1t were
shipped every month from Graytown
alone, but ut present the nv eragc export
per month is only about GO, 600 pounds.
This considerable falling off is due to
the fact that no legal or other survcil-
lance IS exercised over the gathering of
the gum, and with the customary i'm
providence Of these people many Of
the valuable trees which yield it have
been ruined. The Yularocs or rubber
hunters arc the most ignorant and ire
sponsibte creatures, whose first object
when out in a hunt is to secure as much
caoutchouc as possible and next to dam.
age the prospects of other Yularocs, re-
CARELESS of tho future.
A thrifty tree ut its first cutting,
ought to yield not less than fifty
pounds Of rubber but the hunters of to-
day find few so profi:able-uulcss they
penetrate far into the virgin forests and
are lucky enough to discover an entirely
new district. In those sections already
worked most of the trees have been
tapped several times and many of them
were spoiled at the outset by having
been cut too young-its greedy discov-
crcr fearing that if the prize we've left
to attain perfection another might find
md secure it. Were the matter regulat-
ed by judicious laws, so that only ma
ture trees might be tapped, and those
not to an extent to cause death, the
production OF c~aoutchouc would DC
greatly increased. Recently the Costa
Rlcan government has offered extensive
grants of land TO any who will devote
them to the culture Of rubber trees but
SO far few have availcd themselves of
the opportunity.
M my attempts have been made to i'm
port the juice of the tree in its natural
state, but SO fur none of these efforts
have succeeded. While in liquid form
it may be fashioned into my shape by
means OF molds, bat no process has yet
been discovered to prevent its solidify-
ing. There is always q good deal Of
partially hardened caoutchouc adhering
to the bark of the tree, which is torn off
in long, stringy masses, called herucha.
OF course, this is not nearly so valuable
rs the solid cakes, and is moro especial
ly the product of those trees that have
been cut several times, and therefore
cannot yield a copiou' flow Of sap; but
it is wrapped up in bundles and exported
for various purposes. Commercially
speaking, tho caoutchouc of Paris is
considered best, and commands the
highest price in market, while that from
the west coast of Africa is least desira-
bic, being only slightly elastic, and Qike
its collectors) extremely offensive in odor.
Great quantities arc also brought from
British India. Mauritius, and the
Indian archipelago.
The milky juice, which plays now SO
important a part among tho earth's pro-
ductions, was first used by those Central
American Indians. Their caoutchouc
was made known to the world Us elastic
gum, and was long aftcrward given the
name of rubber from the discovery of
its usefulness in rubbing out the marks
of black lead pencils. For the latter
purpose it began to be imported into
Great Britain toward the close Of the
last century, and beng much valued by
artists was sold at n high price. Early
in 1880 the Spanish conquis tadores in
Mexico had learned to make caoutchouc
into shoes and also used it for waxing
their canvas cloaks to make them resist
water-something Us tho clothing of tho
modern Yularo is coated. That, no
doubt, was the origin Of the idea of its
manufacture into waterproof cloth,
which first CAV it great commercial i'm
portancc. Not until 1920 did its m
ployment begin to extend much beyond
the erasing ef pencil marks, though the
quantity imported had consi lcrably in
creased.